St. Joe’s students join the video game trend
Fortnite Battle Royale, an animated third-person shooter video game released by Epic Games in September 2017, has been downloaded millions of times on a multitude of gaming platforms across the globe.
What makes it so popular?
“I think the biggest thing is that it’s free,” said Ethan Bedwell ’21, who plays Fortnite every day. “At that point when someone says, ‘Hey, I have this game. It’s free,’ sure, you’ll go download it. If you like it, you keep it. If you don’t like it, you won’t play it. There’s no risk for trying it out.”
Although Fortnite is free to play, Epic Games generates a majority of its revenue through in-game purchases.
Players are prompted to spend real dollars on Fornite currency coined “V-bucks,” which are used to buy accessories and costumes for their avatars.
Fortnite has also pioneered something completely different than ordinary shooter games, adding a colorful and goofy aesthetic to something typically graphic and gruesome.
While this may foster a more light-hearted gaming experience, Fortnite’s biggest audience tends to be young kids.
“Fornite’s concept is different, and it’s simple to everyone,” said Jerrick Juanillo ’19, president of the campus gaming club Gamers on Fire. “It’s extremely accessible and popular with kids, even though there are military rifles in it.”
For Bedwell, it’s the social aspect of the game that presents the most alluring case.
“Growing up, I think kids our age played Call of Duty a lot because of that,” Bedwell said. “Getting friends together and playing, Fortnite has brought that back for us, and playing with others encourages you to stay on for longer.”
Fortnite allows up to four players to connect with each other online, teaming up as a squad.
In September of this year, the game became the first ever to enable cross-platform gameplay, allowing people from Playstation to play with friends on Xbox.
While Bedwell spends plenty of time playing the game, he spends even more time watching it.
Twitch is an app that allows gamers to stream their gameplay to live audiences and add their own commentary. While the service has been around for years, Fortnite’s meteoric rise and mainstream popularity has lifted it to new heights.
Animated and larger-than-life streamers and professional gamers, such as Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, hold streams that attract up to 1 million viewers.
“I think it’s the same reason why people watch sports,” Bedwell said, “watching people do stuff that everybody technically can do. Everyone can go throw a football, but you want to watch the professionals do it. In reality, there’s a very small percentage of people who are going to get paid to play video games.”
Nazeim Brame ’21 is aiming to be a part of that small percentage.
As a lifelong gamer, Brame came across Fortnite and never looked back.
“I saw Fortnite as an opportunity,” Brame said. “Instantly, as I saw how popular it was around campus, and all of my friends were playing it. I thought it’d be pretty easy to build a fanbase and have a popular channel. It’s worked out so far.”
Brame is currently verified on Twitch. He has over 65 followers and on a given night has around seven to 10 viewers in stream.
“It’s all about time management,” Brame said. “I’m doing well in all of my classes right now. I set out a certain time in my day to do every single one of my personal activities. I just make sure I’m at home in front of my screen when I schedule my streams.”
While Juanillo said not everyone in the Gamers on Fire club plays Fortnite, he has noticed the craze among other gamers.
“Games like Call of Duty have gotten really stale with the gaming community,” Juanillo said. “I think people were getting sick of it. When Fortnite came along, it was like a breath of fresh air.”
